Densetsusama
by Shouri Tsubaki
Summary: Densetsu. A legendary ninja whose only purpose is to win. Shinohara Kioko has just been named this powerful ninja. Taking on the responsibility, she meets with another legendary ninja, and together, they save the world, one Akatsuki member at a time.
1. Chapter 1

The Kazekage would be dead soon. She was sure of it, and the thought terrified her. She continued to run. Upon hearing the news of her dear friend's kidnapping, she immediately left her home for Sunagakure. When she arrived there, Ebizou-jiisama had informed her that her haste was unnecessary, as an elite team of ninja had already begun their search, and that Chiyo-baasama was in their company. This did nothing to reassure her. Her friend, her Gaara, had been kidnapped. The impossibility shocked her, so much so that it seemed like Gaara was trying to pull a prank, had he ever been one for jokes. It was only recently he had discovered how to smile.

Ebizou had filled her in on who they were dealing with, by showing her a sleeping and wounded Kankuro. She looked at the man she'd known for years, pale and sick, asleep in a hospital bed. The sight was enough to force her to turn away. People who were capable of taking down the Kazekage _and_ his family were people who can only possess superhuman abilities.

"Kankuro-kun had been poisoned. By the puppet master Akasuna no Sasori." Ebizou-jiisama looked down at Kankuro as well, a look of pain and worry etching away at his already withered face. "That is why my sister has gone with the Konoha ninja. She is the only one who can defeat that man." He looked up, but didn't particularly look at anything. He stood in a daze, the only sound coming from Kankuro's light breathing.

"Did this Sasori also take Kazekage-sama?" She asked hopefully, praying that there was only one assailant with magical powers.

Ebizou-jiisama continued to stare into space for a few more seconds before answering. "No. There was another. He…rode a bird. But it wasn't a bird…and he rained explosives down from the sky."

This had to be a joke. If she didn't know the ninja of Suna as well as she did, then she would have expected Gaara to come scooting out from under Kankuro's bed, Temari from the closet, and Kankuro himself sitting up and screaming "boo." She wished for that. When no surprise came, she rushed to leave Kankuro's room.

Ebizou-jiisama stopped her before she made it into the hall. "You can't go after them. You can't take that risk. If these men can take down Sabaku no Gaara, then the possibility of the world losing you is also high." Ebizou-jiisama's eyes begged her to stay, in the way a concerned grandparent would worry for his grandchildren's safety.

She thought a moment, trying to piece together the right words.

"Ebizou-jiisama…this title was entrusted to me by my village and is recognized by the world as having been given to the most powerful, skilled, and intelligent ninja history has ever birthed." She cursed herself for having to put on airs like this. "If I don't leave to save Kazekage-sama, then I will regret staying behind if he does indeed die."

Ebizou-jiisama nodded in understanding. "Go. We will set up a support team to follow and assist in any way possible."

She kissed his wrinkled cheek in haste before taking off down the hall. "Thank you, o-jiichan!" She left him with a vision of her smile before disappearing around the corner.

"Wh-who was that?" Kankuro had awoken, groggy and clearly in pain. Ebizou-jiisama turned to him.

"That was the Densetsu, Shinohara Kioko."


	2. Chapter 2

Kioko had never traveled to the Land of Iron before. As an accomplished jounin at the age of 16, she had traveled throughout the world on missions with her squad, codenamed Murasaki, after the village of Murasakigakure. It was a small village, within the Water Country, breeding elite ninja so fearsome that the Bloody Mist village, Kirigakure, dared not set foot on the island, even though the villages neighbored each other.

It was the village hidden in Purple, which makes perfect sense to those who lay eyes on the mysterious island. A few minutes before dawn, before the sun's first rays shoot out over the horizon, the island's dark mountains and deep forests are covered in a mist, hued with purples and pinks and blues in the wavering time before daybreak. Because of this phenomenon, passersby describe the island as the Purple Island.

Water Country citizens, who seek help from skilled ninja, turn toward the Purple Island, and away from Kirigakure. Kirigakure has a long history full of blood, and many people dare not stir up the violence ingrained in its inhabitants.

Murasakigakure splits their earnings with Kirigakure if business booms for one village and not the other, in order to keep conflicts minimal. Business was usually booming for Murasaki.

The villages wealth can only be attributed to the ninja who bring in accomplished missions. Most missions brought to Murasaki are high class and very dangerous, and only the ninja of this village have the skill to accomplish them.

Because the world began to recognize the power Murasaki held, the feudal lords began to test the waters of the village, so to speak. They asked the village elders to elect one person from the village with the greatest skill, and hold them as their most prized citizen (the daimyo were not ready to install a full-time –kage to a village already so powerful). This member, this Densetsu, is titled and honored, and when they die or retire, their title is passed to another, a ninja who is equally or better skilled.

This was Shinohara Kioko.

Going to the Iron Country meant sitting around some boring palace, having to listen to old men speak nonsense for hours on end while she plotted revenge on whoever it was who elected her to this position. It wasn't fair to subject a child to such tediousness when she is so use to action. She kept rationalizing this treatment as being some form of torture the elders had cooked up to punish her for looking at them the wrong way, or calling them old to their faces, or simply breathing incorrectly. They had it out for her, she knew.

She traveled only with her Sensei, Kazuhiro Saitou, as he was all she was permitted to travel with. Those old men sitting in their ridiculous comfort, surrounded by guards at all times, were worried about a little girl and her sensei bringing the Purple Fury into their domain. The thought was laughable. And she did laugh.

"What's so funny?" Saitou looked down at her as they walked toward the gathering place, fighting back his own smile.

Kioko shrugged, her laughter subsiding. "I was thinking about painting the palace purple as a symbol of my hatred."

Saitou bent his head toward the ground, his long blond hair falling with it, hiding the laughs that were building up at the thought. "You know, you get too angry over things like this. Do you take pleasure in anything at all?"

Kioko gently nudged her sensei with her fist. "Yes I do." She smiled at him. He smiled back, wondering what on earth was going through her head. "I enjoy beating you in foot races!" she shouted, and began sprinting toward the steps of the palace.

Saitou had no intention of competing if that was what made her happy. He half-heartedly jogged the rest of the way, meeting his adorable student at the top of the stone steps.

"There's iron ore under this stone," she said, very seriously. The change in her mood took Saitou aback. "You can feel it, under your feet, big pockets of it."

"Well the daimyo have big pockets. Why not fill it with iron?"

"You're ridiculous, sensei," she said with a smile, tugging on a strand of his hair. At that moment, the metal doors of the fortress opened and the pair were quickly ushered inside.

They were greated by a familiar face. Yumi Taiki stood against the nearest pillar, waving lazily to the two. The former Densetsu had no regard for politeness, just familiarity with anyone he came in contact with. "You're late," he said, yawning with boredom. "I've been made to wait here for you two for over a half hour."

"Taiki-senpai!" Kioko waved off formalities and greeted the man with a hug instead of a bow. There were a few onlookers in the entrance hall who stared, finding the scene awkward.

Taiki patted the child's head before holding her chin upwards so she could see his face. "The Densetsu is one for hugs, I see. It'll be useful to defeat your enemies with affection instead of violence. Do you also have your shuriken bent into the shape of hearts?"

Kioko huffed, but remained genuinely happy to see the man who held the position she was about to take on. He had begun coaching her for the title she would carry when the elders had first nominated her only two months before. Taiki turned to Saitou, his smile wavering. They amiably bowed to each other, but didn't exchange any words. Just mumbles and grunts. The tension had become very thick, and Kioko could feel it filling the room like a poisonous gas and entering her lungs.

"So…" she began nervously. "How about those soldier pills, huh?" She smiled, but not enough for the smile to reach her eyes. She clapped her hands, pretending to be excited about the stupid topic she tried to bring up. The two men just looked at her, unsure of how to react after their moment of silence. Luckily, they didn't need to worry about it.

The interior doors to an antechamber down the hall creaked open, revealing a very nervous woman, motioning with her hands for the group to enter quickly. She looked to be on the verge of tears. Kioko began imagining that one of the daimyo threatened that if something goes wrong, that woman would be testing their next meal for poison. With that lovely thought on her mind, she began sprinting yet again toward the door and slipping inside.

There were only a few people within this room. The five daimyo sat perfectly comfortably as Kioko had suspected behind a large table, full of papers someone had prepared for them. _'It's too bad those old men are so useless they can't write their own speeches,'_ she thought with disgust, and threw them a look of defiance at the very least.

Sitting across from the feudal lords were four people, wearing similar hats. Kioko noted the hats had the symbols of four of the five countries represented here, and assumed they were the village leaders of the other hidden villages.

The three took their seats to the side of all of these people, against a wall, and sat patiently. It seemed they were all waiting for another person, probably the village leader who was missing, the Kazekage.

"Ridiculous," Kioko whispered in her sensei's ear. "Someone else is later than we are and yet we get in trouble for it."

Saitou patted her knee and whispered back. "The Kazekage may very well be busy and they may start without him." He nodded toward the daimyo, who began to rustle through his papers, preparing to speak.

"We gather here, for the fourth time in history, to recognize the power that ninja possess." This old man was just as boring as Kioko pictured. Saitou-sensei was the only person keeping her awake, firmly grasping her hand to the point that it was painful. She patted the hand that was bruising hers and he lifted it, apologizing with his eyes.

Taiki snorted. Everyone in the room turned to look at the noise. His head was down, his chin against his chest. He was asleep. The ceremony continued. Kioko was jealous that he got to sleep during this waste of time. She balled her fists, and began to shake a little. Saitou placed his hand over her fist once more, this time gently, and it calmed her down some.

He had been right. She got angry over small things, she knew that. But that was really the only emotion she found accessible. She sometimes felt contented, and very seldom felt ecstatic. Most of the time, she was devoid of emotion. She didn't mind, of course. Emotions got in the way of killing people.

All the daimyo and village leaders stood. Her sensei and senpai also stood. Kioko hadn't noticed, and hadn't been listening when the old man had called upon her. Saitou-sensei gave her a quick push on the back, forcing her to stand up and walk to the feudal lords. Taiki followed, as he was the one to present Kioko with her symbol as Densetsu.

She faced Taiki, and got down on one knee, her face toward the ground, staring at his shoes. She followed his sandals up to his legs, hidden with draping robes she was soon to be made to wear. Her eyes kept traveling upward, passed the hands that were bestowing her a gift and to his face. His dark eyes were shining with…something. Pride? Their eye contact was broken by his brown bangs falling into his stoic face, and Kioko looked down again, this time at the katana he held out for her.

She lifted her hand slowly, feeling as though she was forcing her way through water to reach it. It took ages for her hand to hit the piece of metal, unsheathed just for show.

She stood, grasping it in her hands in disbelief. She held it up, then quickly holstered it. Taiki put his hands on the girl's shoulders. "It's called Hattori," he whispered, and he sat down.

Kioko made to move to sit down herself when another old man stood. This time it was the Hokage of Konohagakure, a village she had visited just once. His face was hard and he almost looked angry with her. But to her surprise, he began to smile. "Never have I seen such a young ninja achieve a title like this." So he was as shocked as she had been. Now that she'd been titled, she found it a little offensive that people are surprised. According to the leaders of the world, she was the best, so why is it such a shock?

She looked at her sensei again, and thought back to the words he had said earlier, about her being angry. She hated that he knew her so well. Her fellow squad members, Nakamura Chikai and Endou Michiyo, were never given this kind of attention. Why did it have to be her? Everyone paid attention to Kioko, because they were so scared of her. And she knew that, she just didn't understand why.

After the Hokage had finished speaking, no one else had much to say, so the ceremony was then concluded. Kioko rushed from the room, not wanting to speak to any of the old men, in case they wanted to talk about boring things. Taiki and Saitou met her outside. She had already begun walking home when they caught up.

"What's the rush, Shinohara-kun?" Saitou said while matching her angry stride. "We've traveled so far to get here from home and you're already in such a hurry to get back."

She scoffed at him. "Of course I'm in a hurry. I need to get home so I can get back to work."

Taiki chuckled, staying a few paces behind. "Densetsu don't do many average missions like you're used to, Shinohara-sama. You'll be doing things like talking to village leaders and organizing parties. And in the event of an emergency, then you'll be used."

She shuddered at the word. "Used." Is that what she was now, a pawn at the beck and call of other leaders? Densetsu were supposed to ride into battle on flaming horses, kill enemies, and keep the ninja business of their village afloat. Not to sit around, waiting. Waiting! It made her angry. And it made her angry that it made her angry. Since Saitou had brought up her go-to emotion, she noticed how angry she became at the slightest thing. Saitou noticed every time, too…and it was irritating.

She slowed her pace, finally taking in the sights around her. It was tea houses and dango shops every few feet until they reached the border of the Earth Country, which they would need to walk through to the Fire Country, and ferry over to their home. Kioko thought of this journey and sighed. It's too far of a trek they had made over some stupid ceremony that took all of a half hour. The wasted time in travel irritated her. She wanted to go home, to see her mother and brother again.

"It'll be a couple days' journey," Taiki said, his eyes facing forward toward the horizon.

"Only if we stop a lot and drag our feet," Kioko argued, and took off down the dirt path, dodging wooden lorries and pedestrians, becoming nothing more than a blur as she raced to the border.

"She's supposed to be the wisest and most patient ninja, isn't she?" Taiki had finally spoken to Saitou.

Saitou looked on. "She'll be alright. She's got more energy and chakra than the both of us combined." With that, he bolted from the scene after his student, leaving the great Yumi Taiki to stand alone outside of a small yakiniku hut, smiling to himself.


End file.
